Black Xbox 360 'confirmed'

According to T3.co.uk Microsoft has now confirmed that a long-rumoured black Xbox 360 will be hitting the streets soon.

The model, called the Elite pack, will be the highest spec of the three 360 packages on offer, with a 120GB hard drive and an HDMI output (plus an included cable). The Premium pack has 20GB of storage space and no HDMI, while the cheaper Core system no hard drive and no HDMI. The Elite pack will not include an internal HD DVD drive.

[DC RID3R]

find Boink :]

hmm MAJOR news eh? hehehe

shogun.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

technically it is pretty major news...its just we all new it was coming for sometime now so ...its not exactly major in our eyes. But to the rest of the world...it definitely competes with the highend PS3 now.

[hfaze]

Yep... it definitely compares to the 60GB PS3... In price too! ;-)

I was SOOOO hoping that Microsoft would drop the core, drop the price on the premium to the core price, and have the elite somewhere a little over $400, but that didn't happen... =P

[zonetrooper5]

Well i don't need the HDMI but i will have the 120GB hard drive.

[Optimus Prime]

that is what i am going to be doing, just getting the harddrive, maybe in a few years go the black 360. but mine is lovely right now. i dont need hdmi yet.

[Imknow1]

Yeah, more interested in the hard drive than the system. Besides, the 360 Elite would be a good purchase for those who don't own a 360 yet :D

[Anego Montoya FTMFW]

So basically current 360 owners are gettin screwed.

[XxZxX]

no they are not. It's the people who bought Elite pack get screwed.
$479 for HDMI and 120GB but no HD-DVD... I'm so pass on this one. I would rather just get the 120GB drive and screw this black color. HDMI I dont need HDMI because the only sane reason for getting HDMI is to watch 1080p movies and that will make it up to $678 if i wanna go HDDVD. Pass... Good thing no present owner got screwed.

[fjtorres]

My Box still does everything it did when I got it.
And if I ever need a bigger HD (not yet, but maybe some day) there will be one.
Even if it cost less than I paid (which it won't, it will cost *more*) I've been beating the crap out of mine for a whole year.

What's the big deal? Why should any existing owner feel slighted?
That its "kewl" black?
Feh!
B.F.D.!!!

[Dusty]

I think maybe t3.co.uk is just reporting on the Elite story from a few days ago. So I am not sure if this has been confirmed again to t3.co.uk.

[LuminousAphid]

I wish I would've known about this before... I'd much rather have HDMI connectivity for the 360 since my TV has more of those than component, and I might be running out of space soon (if I get a Wii I will need those component connections, and VGA looks terrible from what I've seen). That pisses me off. A lot.

[deathtok]

For $9.99 you can get a switch that will allow you multiple component inputs.

[deathtok]

Nice but I'd be curious if it was a 65nm processor as well.

[Says you]

Not pay for a 3rd XBox 360 Microsoft is just totally ripping off
360 fans and if 360 fans cant see that well that goes to show that there more dumber than a sack of dildos and THAMMER1 you would have to be blind if you think that black XBox 360 is going to increase sales by %50 which is unhighly likely thats going to happen.

[power of Green]

*Xbox defence force" get to your battle stations we have in coming enemy bougies.

((HokieFan))ofcourse people will be mad. You own a 360 so my comment really doesn't apply to you now does it.

#18 yah! having different sized HDDs is so unusual?. lol
I wouldn't gamble on making the 360 anymore exspensive than it already is when it wasn't any way of seeing that DDL would be successful in the first place(Dont BUY their products if this upsets you, move on and stop crying).

#21 Thats not what Microsoft SAID!, they said HDMI's not needed to enjoy HD content and is not needed in a sense that they do not have to comply with any laws "yet"(ITs STILL NOT NEEDED!). Besides they said if demand was high enough they would work on it do you think all the people that want to use HDMI care if you're heart broken? lol.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

ok that was funny.

As for feeling screwed? Not at all. I have been enjoying next-gen for over a year...with no issues mind you so no I feel great about this. Its a choice....I don't need the extra storage cause i dont use my HDD nearly as much as others might.

[Rasputin2011]

It is the truth though....like this is OBVIOUSLY Xbox news but soon we will see the Sony trolls come posting there second rate comments regarding how MS is screwing the "Xbots" over.

[SmokeyMcBear]

soo uhhh.. xbo360 v2, comes out 1.5 years after launch.. how long you think its gonna take for xbox 720 to come out.. seriously. This has got to piss off many early adopters and create joy for those that waited.

[gta_cb]

doesnt piss me off at all, i dont have a TV with HDMI and i have 450GB of HDD space on my tv where i stream to my XBox360 any films or music i want. my XBox360 doesnt overheat. i have had it since October 06 and dont regret buying it one bit!

the 120GB HDD would be cool. BUT i havnt even filled my 20GB HDD yet so with all that i have stated i wouldnt gain anything with perchasing the XBox360 elite so you comment isnt right lol

[Black Republican]

although I will not buy this black xbox 360
because my tv only has up to 1080i hdtv component, this is of no use to me, maybe that hard drive but they will sell this seperately.

anyway I think sony fans are just upset that this MIGHT lower the ps3 sales in the U.S.

[Rasputin2011]

How many freaking times are we going to have news about the Black Xbox360?...there is like a different post each day...Honestly I have an Xbox360 and would rather have it in black BUT as far as a gaming console it is the same so I am not about to bash MS for this nor pick me brains to find ways to get rid of the one I have(which works perfectly fine since day one)inorder to get a new Black 360.

[OldSchoolGamer]

I was thinking core most likely, but then it does make sense. If you are going to be spending high end, you would choose the elite, and if you go cheap you would pick up the 120gb HD for I'm hearing about $120 versus the $100 20 gb HD. So you will probably see a core drop to $200 with accessories and harddrives recouping the losses in the coming months. My bet $100 off core annoucement coming very, very soon, ie April to coincide with the launch of this thing.

[GaMr-]

No official Microsoft quote??? This mite be a little pre-mature. How did they confirm it. Was it a press conference. Meeting. Official announcement. Letter in a bottle???

[HokieFan]

Can someone explain to me why the current 360 can't have an HDMI cable? Is it just that it can't output a digital signal instead of analog? As a current 360 owner (does that make me part of the "Xbox defense force" Green?), this kinda annoys me. I guess I always just assumed that they would be releasing an HDMI cable for us early adopters. I'm fine with the upgraded hard drive, but a new system having functionality that mine doesn't really ticks me off. It seems clear to me that the 360 was rushed out the door and MS didn't think everything through before they released the first version. I think this is going to be a hit to the 360's reputation.

[OldSchoolGamer]

You could have a cable, possibly a converter (although I have not heard of a component to HDMI converter), the main problem is the lack of a HDMI port. HDMI is a digital to digital connection. This is basically sending out 1's and 0's in very high quantities. Without a port the signal would be sent out analog, have to be converted to digital, then converted by the TV (unless DLP) back to analog for processing and displayed digitally. So, in essence that port allows output in digital, the signal stays digital, and gets converted and processed analog (unless DLP), then back to digital for display. DLP does process in digital, and unless something has changed in the last 6 months is still the only tv tech that does so (due to a variety of reasons). So without that port on the original you are kind of out of luck with your system.

[HokieFan]

So the display output port on the 360 will only do analog? That's the problem?

P.S. Thanks for your polite, informative response...that's rare 'round these parts.

[OldSchoolGamer]

Its not as simple as that, the port it self I don't think is all digital compatible. This is where it gets trick Component is a combination analog/digital. The y (green), and the Pb (blue) and Pr represent analog connections, while YCrBr represents a digital component connection. The YPbPr uses three cables while the YCrBr uses one. VGA is also still analog. HDMI and DVI are the two main digital connections for gaming purposes presently.

[OldSchoolGamer]

VGA and component simply dont have the bandwidth to support 1080p resolutions after fast refresh rates, when high Frames per Second are being incorporated. DVI and HDMI both have much larger bandwidths and allow for much higher data transfer speeds. Although analog is perfectly usable for 1080i at high rates of both, 1080p may not allow enough data in VGA or component.

[hfaze]

The video chipset has to support HDCP to be able to output over HDMI. This is why a lot of PC owners (myself included) cannot hook up their PC's to HD TV's via DVI.

The new Elite 360 more than likely also includes an updated video chipset to give them HDCP support.

Personally, HDMI is still a VERY young technology, and still pretty buggy... I tried hooking up both my PS3, and my cable box to my TV via HDMI, and ran into the infamous "flashing screen" issue with my Westinghouse 37" LCD. I changed my video output to component, and the issue went away...

HDMI is not all that it's cracked up to be... Any form of DRM just flat out sucks...

[HokieFan]

I absolutely agree with you. I despise DRM in all it's forms. It's the main reason I went with HD DVD instead of Blu-ray...less copy protection. Unfortunately, as I posted below, my 360 won't upscale my DVD's over component (damn DRM again) and the colors look awful over VGA. So, if I want a good looking picture, HDMI is my only option.

I guess I should be angry at the movie studios for enforcing DRM instead of Microsoft...I'm sure they would upscale over component if they were allowed to.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Anego Montoya Yeah I feel real screwed, so excuse me while I go play Shadowrun beta.

11 million weapons 6 million active soldiers makes the 360 a mighty army.

[MrFurious]

Having bigger HDD is an evolution? bullshit.. this is only screwing current owners and trying to get PS3 buyer come to them, but still HiDef optical drive is absent, pfff this is a non-event

[Black Republican]

I dont understand what the hating and b1tching is about

1 - if you dont have HDTV don't buy it

2 - if you dont have an hdtv that doesnt have hdmi dont buy it

3 - hd in GAMING --> their is not much of a difference between HDMI and component for GAMING

4 - the hardrive will also be sold seperately if you do want it...

same games can be played on this new xbox compared to the xbox released day 1 - how are the original buyers being screwed or cheated???

that is like saying someone who bought a ps2 the first day got cheated because their is now a slim ps2 released a while back with ethernet like the older models???
wait ppl will argue this because it is sony !!!!!!!

[HokieFan]

The reason I feel screwed is because my 360 with HD DVD drive is my primary DVD player. The only way it upscales my DVD's is through the VGA connection...unfortunately that makes all the colors badly washed out. I want the HDMI version to get the nice crisp colors that I get through component cables.

[f41c0n]

I knew that MS would have to confirm/deny it soon. They have had a lot of pressure on them in the last month or so.

[sajj316]

I take this as bad news. Why offer three retail SKU(s)? Now you have 10 million user (assuming its 10) w/o HDMI and users that want to go 'Elite' the joy of 1080P. Now, I don't care what people say ... software driven 1080P is not the same as it natively running 1080P. It makes Microsoft's original claim that HDMI wasn't important enough really really dumb. I want HDMI on my 360 but I can't because of my 'white' 360. So they are going to add-on 100 gigs and HDMI and charge 480? If they have a 65nm chipset in place ... I wonder what they would be making per console sold. I don't think it would cost 180. Maybe its the rumored HDMI cable ...

[fjtorres]

...its two.
The Elite in Black is a temporary (2-3 months) stunt for those that whine about black being Kewler than white. *Those* can pay $80 for the privilege of a Black Box. Once the batch of black boxes is gone, the 20GB package goes away and the new *white* premium will have the 120Gb drive and the HDMI.
Bottom line; a phased transition from 20Gb to 120Gb.
And if you *really* care about the drive, you can buy the 120Gb drive separately, which a data transfer cable (apparently).
And, at that time, they'll announce the price cut to the core.

[overrated]

this will be the one sitting next to my PS3 when i get mine tomorrow :)

thanks MS

[Balance]

well as a 360 owner i don't see how this is screwing me at all. my tv doesn't have HDMI ports, so i will buy the bigger HD (which i am sure they will offer seperatly) and that is about it.

explain to me how i am getting screwed?

[Rasputin2011]

My TV is an old Samsung 32' that does not have HD/HDMI or LCD or Plasma so honestly I could not care less about the "NEW" Xbox 360 when my "OLD" 360 does the trick(I do wish mine was Black though)for me and I am very happy with my decesion to "Jump IN" rather than "Play B3yond"

[PS360WII]

So this is how MS is going to meet their quota. You know probably a 3rd of current 360 owners are going to buy this one so that would be 3 million extra units sold without having to expand it's audience. Well done MS well done.

As a current 360 owner I feel this isn't a bad thing. Why is it horrible that MS wants to make a better system than they have already? Isn't that the nature of the beast? The persistent pursuit of perfection? I'm sure the noise factor on it is down big time as well. Probably fixed some of that overheating problem as well.

[Geohound]

only thing about it for me is the harddrive. and i guess black wouldn't show much dirt.

[THAMMER1]

I just hope I get a good deal on a trade in. Or I'll sell it. I never thought PS2 owners were being ripped off with the slim PS2. But any way the desperate will do anything to get ahead. I think this is going to increase 360 sales 50%.

The main reason I thought this is because I was not going to buy this because I just wanted to get the HDD. But the more I think about it this new black 360 will kick some @ss. It should less hot, noisy, and the larger HDD and is a bonus if you need it. I have no use for HDMI but some people may.

[Sphinx]

I couldn't care less... I got my 360 set up quite nicely. I don't need more room on my HDD as of yet, and probably never will. My HDTV doesn't have HDMI, so that doesn't matter. Plus, I prefer my white one with the Chicago Bears faceplate.
I also think it is pretty cool that they include an HDMI cable, unlike some other company I know whose console has a port for it... wink wink

[caffman]

as I don't need HDMI at the mo. Then I'll get my other one flashed.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

How can anyone whom own a PS3 talk about somone getting a Elite 360 being screwed. We know MS products have alot to offer and will provide the game that YOUR system has failed to obtain and/or lost. So 1. I a first gen 360 owner am getting it. 2. I will enjoy the new processor and cooler temps. 3. It STILL is cheaper than the GAY S 3! Need I even mention the Dominate power of XBOX-LIVE...

[fenderputty]

I just think you're going to have to shell out money on top of something you've already shelled out money for, just to get more HDD space and HDMI. Why would I, or anyone for that matter, feel as though you guys are being screwed?

[ASSASSYN 36o]

Would you say that to someone whom bought the 20 gig ps3 then the 60 gig. Oh thats ok though. Hypocrite

[ASSASSYN 36o]

Would you say that to someone whom bought the 20 gig ps3 then the 60 gig. Oh thats ok though. Hypocrite

[SmokeyMcBear]

not really because you can just buy a new hd and plug it in, ive heard of 250 gig ps3s out there, that is why people bought the 20 gig, to swap out the hd and place new one, for just the purchase prices of the hd. no wireless.. but its the same with teh elite 360

[MissAubrey]

is this really confirmed?

[Spud006]

That's what I was trying to figure out. The article says nothing about Microsoft or any sort of confirmation. It just states the same articles that we has seem before. I think that it has not been confirmed yet.

[360theAssasinsCreed]

I will pick this up for sure only 80 bucks more for 100GB of extra room and now that i have an HDMI enabled TV another Bonus. Now hoping for a FF13 announcement to happen.

Also i am hoping Sony starts announcing some big name exclusives meaning when they will be out for sure, that is what's holding me back from picking one up right now. RFOM and Motorstorm are not enough to pick it up yet for me, I do know this is an awesome time to be a gamer regardless what console you prefer great games all around.

[The BS Police]

I could care less about the console itself, jsut give me that 120 gig HDD and I'm good.

[HaKeRsCanRotINHEL]

and the idiot behind the counter told me that it was coming with a CELL processor and would cost $600! IDIOT.

[Raziel McGee]

The guy prob just got done doing a bong hit for the umptenth time today and was more interested in the rasberry filled donuts and flavered water to know what he was talking about <DUDE>..

ps. I think i ran into the same guy at gamestop.

[SmokeyMcBear]

can you guys swap out the hard drive and place a larger one in the premium 360's cuz that would be a neat feature

[FFVIIFan]

because it's probable true, but I can't find any other article on the internet comfirming this. Hell, just yesterday G4 said it was still a rumor. If anyone has found any other websites confirming this news could you please post me a link? Thanks.

[mkemanda]

micrsoft owes the 10 million plus xbox360 owners a refund so we can buy it all over agin they should have done it this way a year ago ms are a bunch of Aholes

[FFVIIFan]

They don't owe you a thing. When you bought the 360 you payed for that machine. Just because they come out releasing a newer one doesn't mean they owe you it. You payed for the Core/Premium 360 and that's what you got. You didn't pay for the Elite. Sell your old 360 when the Elite comes and find a way to transfer your data if you're that upset.

[ALIEN]

I just want the 120GB.

[socalr6]

Since Microsoft was early and first to the next gen party it was too early to include HDMI or a HD optical drive. It take even longer for the "on the cheap early adopters" to follow suit. Like others my 4 yr old Samsung 26in 1080i crt tv has no HDMI, only comp and dvi. I will upgrade to the new one once I can afford a big 1080p tv. Then move the original 360 and current tv to another room at that time.

[Diselage]

Is it big news? Yes. I mean come on a new black version of the xbox 360 is coming out of course it's big news. Has the news been a long time coming? Yes. Maybe if Microsoft had officially announced this thing in January or even beginning of Feb. we may of been shocked a little but this is just the last step of formality for this thing.

[nix]

MS still is in the software mindset. they have been used to providing udates for their windows software for so many years that now they are doing the same with the hardware. update it every year.

MS has to wake up and learn that gamers are not the usual Windows users and give them something that will atleast last for more than four years.

i won't be surprised if MS comes out with another machine in a year's time, which will handle like 'sixaxis' or 'wii'. then what will all the current xbox users do? buy that one again???

not that i am saying sony does a better job.

[caffman]

Japan, then the USA, then several months later the rest of the world.

Oh sorry that was Sonys plan!

[SpinalRemains138]

360 is already outdated? Man I figured it would take 3 years, not 1.

[VORODOR 2]

GETTING SHAFTED BIG TIME BUY MS, YOUR ALL GONNA HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER XBOX TO PLAY GAME SINT HE FUTURE NOW; AND MS KNOWS YOUR ALL STUPID ENOUGH TO BUY ONE AGAIN. ALSO HOW MUCH IS THIS THING GONNA COST, I BET IT WILL COST A LOT MORE THAN IT'S WORTH.

[theagony]

well well, pretty good news.. right people? now all you have to do is just connect your xbox to your pc, log in to your windows click start and then click update...boom your white box will turn in to black box, unbelievable isn't it?...and next month do the same thing one more time to upgrade to super duper ultra black box which will have hd-dvd drive too and a free hd movie.
Very good ms keep going like this, and I will be there waiting for you.

[NextGen24Gamer]

The Elite 360 is approximately 470 and the HD dvd add on is 130 in many places now....Thats 600 dollars total...The price isn't confirmed yet though...We will see. I read somewhere that after the limited edition black ones sell out....it will take the place of the white premium 360 and be priced at 400....Interesting indeed. We will have to wait for the official word from Microsoft.

You get 120 gigs, hdmi output with cord, and the hd dvd player. for the same price as the 60 gig ps3 without the hdmi cord but with wi fi. In both cases you can buy a hdmi cord for your ps3 and you can buy a wi fi adapter for your 360 seperately and you can even find low prices....But I think hdmi is more important to include than wi fi....I have wireless computers but I always go the wired rout...just overal better and faster connections...Any techy will tell you go the wired route over the wirless rout if you have that option in your setup...

At eb games, best buy, and walmart the hdmi cable for the ps3 is 70 dollars. Sure you can find cheaper ones on budget sites....I'm just saying the officila ps3 cables are 70 dollars. Its good that MS will be throwing it in the package for free. Nice Microsoft. I can't wait. It will sell out extremely fast and it rejuvenates the xbox brand even though they continue to lead in console sales this Next Gen. Smart move MS. Sony fanboys will scream about people getting screwed...but should the people who actually bought the 360 feel that way? Nope. Everyone I know is super excited about it. I don't know any 360 gamers who feel screwed...Only 5% of consumers use HDMI...so right now its a small percentage of gamers who will possibly want the HDMI 360...Like me....But the majority of the 11 million sold are just fine...they just want the 120 gig hard drive....

[DJ]

500,000 guaranteed owners who are about to get screwed over if this comes true, as well as the millions of others who cannot upgrade to HDMI. In addition to that, Microsoft restricts their customers from buying 3rd party Hard Drives, unlike Sony.

Supposedly that 120GB HDD is going to be Very expensive, especially since the 20GB HDD is already $100. Until I hear this straight from Microsoft though, I'm going to count this as a semi-rumor.

[PS360PCROCKS]

Hmm I wonder if I can somehow get rid of my broken Xbox now for a good amount and just use the money to buy this I'd rather have this than pay $140 to fix my disk drive...anybody know if gamespot does this sorta thing if it's broken?

[zonetrooper5]

"FEEL SORRY FOR YOU XRATS!
GETTING SHAFTED BIG TIME BUY MS, YOUR ALL GONNA HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER XBOX TO PLAY GAME SINT HE FUTURE NOW; AND MS KNOWS YOUR ALL STUPID ENOUGH TO BUY ONE AGAIN. ALSO HOW MUCH IS THIS THING GONNA COST, I BET IT WILL COST A LOT MORE THAN IT'S WORTH."

Firstly why did you use a name like Xrats, that is lame and it shows your 12 years old. Second, MS has not confirmed this Black Xbox 360. As i said before all i want is the bigger Hard Drive and HDMI, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are not needed for this generation of consoles.

[Ps3007]

Where does it say that in that article? Says reports, engadeget, etc like everyone else. Did Microsoft actually confirm this? HEck being a Ps3 fanboy ive been waiting for this... The REAL 360 console what all you had is no officially 2.5.. If this is true ill pick it up to go along with my black ps3 :)

[sabbath420]

It was a story this morning on the local news channel.

[sabbath420]

I like to have the options MS and xbox give me. Some people need some things and other people do not. Heck when original xbox came out with the Halo green edition I bought it. I liked halo alot at the time. Other people did not care about halo and did not buy one.
Same with the ps2. This new xbox is for the few people that have hdtv's that only want to use hdmi. And a bigger hd. (also sold seperatly) That is where the name elite comes in. My xbox will not be outdated for me in any way. I bet you sony boys wish to your god that sony would have given you option also. Blue ray drive? SD card slots. Shoot my 3 year old printer from wal mart has 3 card slots on it.

[NextGen24Gamer]

5% of 10 million 360 owners equals
500,000 guaranteed owners who will be able to purchase the HDMI adapter that MS will surely release as they stated they would when interviewed by IGN many months ago. In addition to that, Microsoft is most likely going to lower the price of the current premium and external 20 gig drive. Rumor has it the premium will be flushed out and the elite will take its place in White at 399 with the 120 gig hard drive/hdmi with cable.....So the 120 gig drive will most likely be 100 to 150 MAX....With the 20 gig dropping all together or a price cut to about 50 dollars most likely.

And while sure MS hasn't officially announced it....they most definately haven't shot it down either. And MS is quick to shoot down rumors if its not true. On top of that my relative is a manager at EB games and he said its coming for sure. Sometime in April/May. We will see buddy. I'm super excited as are many others who want the "elite" 360...or the many others who want a bigger hard drive/ hdmi adapter....This is Great News...